Lessons from Karachi : the role of demonstration, documentation, mapping and relationship building in advocacy for improved urban sanitation and water services

This study was conducted as part of the project, ‘Improving urban water and sanitation provision globally, through information and action driven locally’. The aim of this study report is to highlight the importance of mapping and documentation, for effective relationship building and advocacy. The report discusses how demonstration of solutions and the documentation and mapping, which are at the heart of the Orangi Pilot Project’s (OPP-RTI’s) work, established the grounds on which relations with both government and communities were built. It identifies formal and informal processes, underscoring how these relationships have been nurtured over time. The methodology adopted for this study entailed detailed and extensive discussions and interviews with government department staff in the City District Government Karachi. Main elements of OPP-RTI’s advocacy strategy are the Identification of issues; Field experience; Linkages and partnerships with government; Research and extension; Civil society partnerships and networks – partnerships in advocacy; Ownership of process and outcome; and ‘Media for information, not publicity’.